Life scientists acknowledged in Eureka Awards

The life sciences put in a jolly good showing in Australian science's 'night of nights', as the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes were doled out to scientists, journalists, teachers and students for outstanding work in advancing science.

The chief gong, for Leadership in Science, went to Professor Michael Good, Director of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), who has been beavering away for over two decades on vaccines for malaria and Streptococcus A. Both diseases affect millions of people around the world and vaccines would represent a genuine breakthrough.

The prize for Medical Research went to Dr Paul Beggs, from the Department of Environment and Geography in the Faculty of Science at Macquarie University, who discovered a link between climate change and the incidence of allergies to things such as pollen, peanuts and diseases like asthma.

Research that Contributes to Animal Protection was awarded to a team who are developing a genetic test that will aid in the breeding of hornless bulls in an attempt to both reduce the number of injuries suffered by cattle from horns and eliminating the need to perform painful dehorning procedures. The team is comprised of Dr Kishore Prayaga (Brisbane), Dr Max Mariasegaram, (Brisbane) and Stephanie Sinclair (Rockhampton), of CSIRO Livestock Industries and Dr Carol Petherick (Rockhampton), of Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries.

The Scientific Research Eureka went to Professor Gooding, from the School of Chemistry at the University of NSW, who has developed a new class of portable analytical devices that can perform tests that would normally require samples to be sent back to a laboratory. This could mean a significantly faster turnaround and cost saving on a whole range of tests.

Professor Brett Neilan, Federation Fellow, University of New South Wales, took home the award for Water Research and Innovation for his research identifying the biochemical pathways responsible for the production of lethal toxins formed in cyanobacteria.

Finally, the coveted People's Choice award went to Dr Katherine Belov, a geneticist and lecturer at Sydney University, for her work on the genetics behind the facial tumours that are bedevilling the Tasmanian devil.

All up, the life sciences virtually dominated the awards. More information on the awards and their respective recipients can be found here.